Actually his passing was noted on another group I am a member of, but one dedicated to comic strip art rather than crime fiction. I actually read and enjoyed a couple of his Modesty Blaise books and agree that the movie based on his character did neither O'Donnell nor her any service: lots of camp 'Sixties visuals and inconsequentiality and nothing of the source material's action adventure intent. The actress who played her was gorgeous, though, I note in perhaps totally irrelevant passing...
Patrick
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From: Eric Chambers <nqexile@yahoo.com.au>
To: rara-avis-l@yahoogroups.com
Sent: Sun, 9 May, 2010 14:17:14
Subject: RARA-AVIS: Peter O'Donnell
No one seems to have picked it up here yet but Peter O'Donnell creator of Modesty Blaise - both comic book and a number of excellent novels - died recently. The last Modesty strip was published on April 11 2001 on his 81st birthday.
The English writer Kingsley Amis called the partnership between Modesty and her (platonic) sidekick Willy Garvin, 'One of the great partnerships in Crime Fiction, bearing comparison with that of Sherlock Holmes and Dr Watson.
Quentin Tarantino has expressed long-term plans to make a Modesty Blaise film. Modesty is referenced in 'Pulp Fiction' . There was only one (official ) Modesty film ever made and it starred the Italian actor, Monica Vitti. It contained only one line of dialogue from his original screenplay.
After that he kept very tight control over his work.
http://www.nytimes. com/2010/ 05/09/books/ 09odonnell. html
http://www.guardian .co.uk/books/ 2010/may/ 05/modesty- blaise-peter- odonnell- dies
What I didn't know about him and have just learned is that he created and wrote a BBC series called ,
'Take a pair of Private Eyes' about a husband and wife team of P.I.'s which ran for 6 episodes in 1966.
Anybody familiar with it?
Eric
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